There’s nothing like getting a puck between the eyes to welcome a goalie to a new season of hockey.

Connor Hellebuyck was manning the crease as the Jets worked on their power play during a 45-minute skate on Wednesday at BellMTS Place.

The puck was worked around the perimeter to Ville Heinola, Winnipeg’s youngest player on their opening night roster, who was staking out a spot to the left of the Hellebuyck.

Winnipeg’s 18-year-old defenceman has been a prodigy of sorts after going from 20th overall pick in June to the team’s second pairing on defence after a brilliant training camp nobody saw coming.

What Hellebuyck didn’t see coming on Wednesday was Heinola’s one-timer, one that drilled Winnipeg’s No. 1 flush in the face, dropping him on his butt.

Good to get it out of the way.

“That’ll wake you up,” Hellebuyck said not long after Winnipeg’s final practice before they jumped on their charter to New York City.

Hellebuyck was fine after, laughing as he recounted the stinger.

He said his mind is right heading into his third season as the starter.

“I’m excited, really pumped about this season and I feel really good about my game,” Hellebuyck said. “The team is looking good.”

And different.

Half of the guys prowling the blue line in front of him are new, with different tendencies and ways of communication than those who departed over the summer.

“It’s all about getting the chemistry down,” Hellebuyck said. “A great example is me and Tucker Poolman. My first pre-season game, he would call something and I wouldn’t do it. And then the next one, we connected on all of our passes and we were clean. It just took a day or two to understand what he likes, where he wants it. He’s going to be in command and I’m going to put it right there on his tape.

“The fact is, they’re all good players. We believe in them all and we trust each other. At the end of the day, it’s just building a little chemistry, the little things that are going to make us a playoff contender.”

‘We’re brothers now’

They’ve spent the past two weeks together, grinding through the necessary evil that is preseason.

“I think (the roster is) very settled. Seeing each other every single day, being on the ice together, been together off the ice. We’re brothers now and we’ve got a long season ahead of us and it starts tomorrow. We’re excited, and we’re ready for it.”

Ehlers said the team feels good in all three zones, even with the shift in personnel on the blue line.

“I think we worked our asses off every single (preseason) game and won battles,” he said. “It’s something that we got to keep doing. It will help us a lot in puck recovery and in keeping the puck alive. We feel good.”

Niku’s demotion

Seeing defenceman Sami Niku sent down to the Manitoba Moose on Tuesday may have come as a bit of a surprise.

On paper, it made the most sense, however, given that the 22-year-old Finn is waiver exempt and the Jets didn’t have to expose anyone else after losing goalie Eric Comrie Tuesday.

On the ice, it made sense, too.

A car accident on the eve of the preseason, along with a groin pull not long after he returned to the ice having recovered from the stiffness from the wreck, limited him to two full practices during the two-week camp.

“He got a skate in yesterday but he’s not there, so I know he’s not going in (to the lineup),” Maurice said. “And then we get into (four games in six nights) on the road, which means no practice time.

“He’s healthy, but he’s not conditioned strong yet… what the window is on that, I don’t know.”

And Niku’s eventual call up could also be determined by the play of those up with the big club.

“Part of it (will be) how he’s doing and the other part, how these guys here are doing,” Maurice said.

Adversity be damned

To those outside witnessing the vortex surrounding the Jets, adversity hit like a Category 5 hurricane.

But Maurice said despite the swirling winds off the ice throughout camp, it was one of the best camps he’s seen in his 23 years as an NHL head coach.

“The players continued to work every single day, regardless of the load, and it was a heavy, heavy camp,” Maurice said.

Maurice revealed that at one point he had 16 players on his “dinged up list.”

“But focus and camaraderie, they’re laughing and joking and working real, real hard,” he said. “Really enjoyed the camp.”

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